Jumeriah Mosque

This morning mom, Savannah and I went to the Jumeriah Mosque. Typically, mosques are not open to Non-Muslims but through the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding the Jumeirah Mosque is open for tours several times each week. The Centre was established with the aim of removing the barriers between people of different nationalities and to raise awareness of the local cultural, its traditions, its customs and Islam among foreign residents and visitors.

Mom and I expected the Mosque to be much more glitzy and ornately decorated but essentially it is a large carpeted room with tall pillars. The large room is for the men only. Women and children must use a smaller room with a separate entrance. Our tour guides explained that the separation is so that there are no distractions during prayer time. The tour guides also explained the five pillars of Islam (the foundation of Muslim life) and that Muslims are supposed to pray five times each day. The prayer times vary by sunset and sunrise each day. Inside the mosque there is a large clock that indicates the prayer times for that day. Prayer can take place inside and outside a mosque. In a mosque you would stay shoulder to shoulder with the people next to you, as to not let evil through. Often prayer rugs are used to designate personal space but they also can use wooden statues (or as our guide told us, handbags) set in front of them to mark their place. This is supposed to help create less distraction during prayer. The men get the larger room because traditionally more men actually come to a mosque for prayer during the week as most women are at home raising the children.

Prayers always take place facing Mecca. In the Mosque there was a large area indicating which way Mecca is. In hotels and other public locations you may see an arrow indicating the direction of Mecca. Many prayer rugs also have compasses built in so that you are always facing the correct direction. One of the pillars of Islam is that all Muslims will travel to Mecca once during their lifetime. Mecca is considered to be the holiest meeting site in Islam and is located in Saudi Arabia.

Fridays are considered the Holy Day. In a mosque on Friday you would find a leader, similar to our priests or ministers. In the United Arab Emirates the leaders are given a topic to discuss. This way regardless of the mosque you attend within the country, you are hearing a talk on the same topic. The five pillars of Islam are embedded in weekly topics. The five pillars are the testimony of faith, prayer, giving to those in need, fasting during the month of Ramadan and the pilgrimage to Mecca.

Our tour guides also went on to explain the dress of women and men and answered questions regarding Islam and Muslims. Out of respect, to enter the Mosque you must be very conservativally dressed (long pants and sleeves). You also had to have your hair covered and your shoes removed.

As someone who is residing in a country where we are the minority it is always interesting to learn a little more about the religion, culture and traditions that surround us.